ACC Insider - 'Canes speed up Devils' transformation

Published: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 11:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 11:22 p.m.

It's a lot easier to talk about change than embracing it and actually bringing it about.

And no, I'm not talking about politics.

Rather, it's the way the Duke basketball team has dealt with life without injured forward Ryan Kelly.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his players have said all the right things about reinventing themselves since the senior co-captain was sidelined indefinitely on Jan. 8 with an undisclosed foot injury. From the players' point of view, their words didn't always match their actions.

There were a few changes in those first couple of games without Kelly, most made necessary by the difference in spacing that comes from not having an athletic 6-foot-10 wing man equally adept at taking the ball to the basket as he is at hitting the 3-point jumper.

For the most part, though, it was business as usual – why tear down a building that looks perfectly good from the outside?

Because there might be some significant cracks in the foundation that are only visible upon closer inspection.

Apparently the Blue Devils didn't feel the need for such an inspection after a close loss at N.C. State – a defeat they could easily explain away because of a turned ankle that forced star guard Seth Curry to miss the final three minutes – and a routine win against Georgia Tech that helped elevate them back to the No. 1 ranking in the national polls.

It wasn't until Miami threw a cold bucket of ice water in their faces that they finally came to the realization that they're neither the team they once were, nor the team they need to be, to succeed in their current makeup.

Wednesday's 90-63 humiliation at the hands of the ACC-leading Hurricanes wasn't just a beatdown of historic proportions. It was also a wakeup call that finally might have forced Duke to stop talking about finding a new identity and beginning the process of actually doing it.

“Everybody has to look in the mirror and say, ‘What do I need to do?' ” senior center Mason Plumlee said. “It's not fun. We hate losing, naturally. People are always like, ‘What did Coach do to you?' We don't like losing. Coach isn't the only one who hates to lose.”

Contrary to the rumor that made the rounds on Twitter and gained traction when mentioned by host Dan Patrick on his national morning show, Krzyzewski didn't force his players into the gym for all-night practice upon returning home from Miami.

He simply used the two days to reinforce his team's commitment to defense, challenge its fighting spirit and get serious about incorporating different offensive sets designed to create more “Duke shots.” The result was a solid 84-64 home win against Maryland that could just have been the real debut of Duke 2.0.

“I think it's our first step to becoming who we're going to be now,” Krzyzewski said after the victory, in which freshman guard Rasheed Sulaimon hit six 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 25 points.

“We're obviously a different team without Ryan and we have to play like we won't have him. I think we will have him at some time, but we have to figure out who we are without him. Our preparation was intense and we played that way. I'm very impressed with our team.”

Though no game in the ACC this season is a breather, especially on the road, Wednesday night's contest at Wake Forest should be an opportunity for Duke to reinforce the facelift that finally seem to have it heading in the right direction again.

The more minutes freshman Amile Jefferson gets, the better and more confident he will become. The more assertive Sulaimon stays, the better the opportunities for Curry, Plumlee and point guard Quinn Cook.

They're developments that have the potential to make the Blue Devils even better than they were before when – or if – Kelly is healthy enough to return to the lineup and bring about yet another change to embrace.

<p>It's a lot easier to talk about change than embracing it and actually bringing it about.</p><p>And no, I'm not talking about politics.</p><p>Rather, it's the way the Duke basketball team has dealt with life without injured forward Ryan Kelly.</p><p>Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his players have said all the right things about reinventing themselves since the senior co-captain was sidelined indefinitely on Jan. 8 with an undisclosed foot injury. From the players' point of view, their words didn't always match their actions.</p><p>There were a few changes in those first couple of games without Kelly, most made necessary by the difference in spacing that comes from not having an athletic 6-foot-10 wing man equally adept at taking the ball to the basket as he is at hitting the 3-point jumper.</p><p>For the most part, though, it was business as usual – why tear down a building that looks perfectly good from the outside?</p><p>Because there might be some significant cracks in the foundation that are only visible upon closer inspection.</p><p>Apparently the Blue Devils didn't feel the need for such an inspection after a close loss at N.C. State – a defeat they could easily explain away because of a turned ankle that forced star guard Seth Curry to miss the final three minutes – and a routine win against Georgia Tech that helped elevate them back to the No. 1 ranking in the national polls.</p><p>It wasn't until Miami threw a cold bucket of ice water in their faces that they finally came to the realization that they're neither the team they once were, nor the team they need to be, to succeed in their current makeup.</p><p>Wednesday's 90-63 humiliation at the hands of the ACC-leading Hurricanes wasn't just a beatdown of historic proportions. It was also a wakeup call that finally might have forced Duke to stop talking about finding a new identity and beginning the process of actually doing it.</p><p>“Everybody has to look in the mirror and say, 'What do I need to do?' ” senior center Mason Plumlee said. “It's not fun. We hate losing, naturally. People are always like, 'What did Coach do to you?' We don't like losing. Coach isn't the only one who hates to lose.”</p><p>Contrary to the rumor that made the rounds on <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a> and gained traction when mentioned by host Dan Patrick on his national morning show, Krzyzewski didn't force his players into the gym for all-night practice upon returning home from Miami.</p><p>He simply used the two days to reinforce his team's commitment to defense, challenge its fighting spirit and get serious about incorporating different offensive sets designed to create more “Duke shots.” The result was a solid 84-64 home win against Maryland that could just have been the real debut of Duke 2.0.</p><p>“I think it's our first step to becoming who we're going to be now,” Krzyzewski said after the victory, in which freshman guard Rasheed Sulaimon hit six 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 25 points.</p><p>“We're obviously a different team without Ryan and we have to play like we won't have him. I think we will have him at some time, but we have to figure out who we are without him. Our preparation was intense and we played that way. I'm very impressed with our team.”</p><p>Though no game in the ACC this season is a breather, especially on the road, Wednesday night's contest at Wake Forest should be an opportunity for Duke to reinforce the facelift that finally seem to have it heading in the right direction again.</p><p>The more minutes freshman Amile Jefferson gets, the better and more confident he will become. The more assertive Sulaimon stays, the better the opportunities for Curry, Plumlee and point guard Quinn Cook.</p><p>They're developments that have the potential to make the Blue Devils even better than they were before when – or if – Kelly is healthy enough to return to the lineup and bring about yet another change to embrace.</p><p> </p><p>ACC Insider <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic24"><b>Brett Friedlander</b></a> can be reached at starnewsacc@gmail.com.</p>